Critics call for supplemental EIS, redesign of $3.4B CRC bridge

Opponents of the $3.4 billion Columbia River Crossing project between Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., are calling for a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, to be paid for with funds from the preliminary design fund. Washington state Sen. Don Benton said the state's share of the bridge's cost wouldn't be included in the transportation budget unless the bridge's height is raised and light rail removed. Another legislator wanted more lane capacity. Washington state Rep. Jim Moeller, who said he and others had "heard it all before," said a new EIS would mean starting over.